Zapatista rebels extend control over areas in south Mexico

Mexico's Zapatista indigenous rebel group has announced that it is extending its control over so-called "autonomous" zones to 11 more areas in the southern state of Chiapas. Some are on land the Zapatistas seized after they staged a brief armed uprising in 1994 to demand greater rights for the indigenous. But at least one of new rebel "autonomous" towns is located in the ecologically sensitive Lacandón jungle, a nature reserve.

A statement signed by Zapatista "subcommander" Moises and posted over the weekend called it an "exponential growth that allows us to break the blockade again." The Zapatistas generally forbid law enforcement agencies and government inspectors from entering their communities and practice traditional forms of self-governance.

Asked about the announcement, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said: "go ahead."